Means of attaching the heads of golf clubs to their sticks



Sept. 15, 1925. 1,553,867

G. H. MAAS MEANS OF ATTAGHING THE HEADS OF GOLF CLUBS TO THEIR STICKS Filed May 23. 1923 I N VEN TOR.

G o/ 7e H. N am, BY

Wrzmss WA W ATTORNEYS.

ployed for connecting .the head of a Patented Sept. 15, 1925.

UNITED s'r-Aras ra ran'rv forFlca.

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- Application med Iay as, 1923. Serial No. 640,880.

To all whom it may concern: I Be it lmown that I, GEORGE H. Mass, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Milwaukee, county of Milwaukee, and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means of Attaching the Heads of Golf Clubs .to Their Sticks; and I do declare the f0 owing to be a clear, exact, and complete description thereof, such as will enable others 'skilled in the art to which the invention pertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawing as illustrating a construction in which III e my invention has en embodied.

The inventionrelates to the means c1111;

0 club tothe shaft or handle thereof, an is a plicable particularly to golf clubs in w 'ch the head or driv ng memberis shaped from a wooden block. p

In effecting such attachment it is customary to bore a tapering hole in the shank of .the head, and secure therein the smallerv end of the uniformly tapering shaft. In order to avoid van enlargement caused by the up- 1 end of the shank, it is the practice to re uce the shank by a formation which tapers from the head to the end of the shank. In

such formation the shank is thinnedso that the feather (1 at its termination is barely perceptible. as a symmetrical structure is produced, tapering from the up r end of the shaft to the point of its sma lest'exposed diameter, and then gradually enlarged y a tapering formation which is absorbed in the head of the club. In order to effectively secure the head to the shaft itis the customary practice to wind about the stick at the oint of union described, strong thread, t 'e winding of which will extend for a suitable distance above and below the line of the smallest diameter before mentioned.

By reason of the gauge of the thread used in such winding, there is no appreciable increase in the diameter of the stick inthe sec-. tion so wound. While this method of atplastic material having the "shrinking and hardenin very desirable result is achieved by the application of securing means in a most novel form. I In carrying out the invention I ap j I ply to the joint, which may be referred to- 7 point in the length of the club where as that the sha enters the shank, a ferrule of peculiar'formation and adaptability for the purposes of my invention. The said ferrule will be reduced to an unserviceable condiis constituted as a tube'of plastic material,

it possessing the properties of shrinkingand hardening when heated or exposed to the atmosphere, and embodying also the characteristic of great durability. After the ferrule hasbeen placed upon the shank and the shaft inserted and secured in the hole, and when the firmly united. Suitable finishing operations to remove projecting portions and produce the symmetrical outline so much dee sired are then'resorted to.

claims. r

In the accompanying .drawing: Figure 1 isa view illustrating the striking end of a golf club, showing the lower plastic ferrule'has become setand hardened, the parts will be found to be.

end of the shaft in elevation and the head partly in elevation and part1 in vertical section, with the shank and t e ferrule" in section.

Fig. 2 is a similar fragmentary view illusin elevation and the ferrule in section.

.trating the portions ofthe shaft and head ioo' provided with a rearwardly and upwardly extending shank 11 of-' usual formation,

these parts being shaped inte ally from a block of wood in the rough. V e shank'll is then roportioned so as to taper from the head with the desired len About the shank is fitte un er-exposure, the length. of the ferru e exceeding someh anddiameter. a ferrule 12 of roperties of what that of .the shank upon which it is s5 The invention will be described in detail later on in this specification, and the novelty will be pointed out in the appended placed. I have found after an experimen tationcoveringmore than a year that cellu-.

may shrink in the drying operation and thus effect a firm union between theparts. In

' the construction illustrated, I have shown a circumferential recess, 13, as being formed adjacent the shoulder 14:, it existing at. the intersection of the shank with the head, into which the lower end of the ferrule will contract to form a constriction 15 and make a perfectly tight joint at that oint. The shrinkage of the ferrule causes t to engage the shank with a high degree of friction, and with the anchorage afi'orded b the circumferential 'groove 13, the ferru e cannot become dislodged and therefore becomes a permanent part of the structure. 7

When the ferrule has become set upon the shank with the desired degree of hardness, the tapering hole 16 is bored-centrally of the shank. The projecting end 17 of the ferrule is then softened so as to become pliable.

, 'The pointed end 18 of the shaft 19 is then inserted in the tapering bore 16 and glued therein in its final position. ,In a little while the end of the projecting ferrule which has been softened to permit the connection of the head to the shaft 19 will shrink and become hardened upon the portion of the shaft encircled by it, a strong frictional engagement being effected between the two arts.

After suitable seasoning, the hea v of the club is sanded into the desired shape, as is also the ferrule by removing all projecting and uneven surfaces therefrom, so as to produce a symmetrical structure. In such sanding operation the end of'the ferrule is reduced so as to ta r to a thin edge as indicated at 20, in Figure 1, forming a line of union with the shaftwhich is barely percep-- tible to the touch. Severe use coverin a comparativel long period 0 time, has demonstrate both the serviceability and durability of my improved means of joining the head of the club to the shaft thereof.

It will be observed that in the actual construction the ferrule is adapted to receive at one end the tapered shank of the head of the club and at the other end the uniformly tapered lower end of the shaft, so that in actual use the said ferrule tapers interiorly from. each end toward the middle or to the line of the smallest diameter of theparts which it is used to connect. This method of fastening parts together I regard as novel.

I have und celluloid to be well adapted for the purposes of my invention, but it is to be understood that other substances possessing properties which will enable them to be employed in the attainment of the purposes of my invention may be used instead. It will also be within the scope of my invention to assemble the elements of the club in a sequence of o 'erations which is different from that herelnbefore recited. For instance, it will be possible to complete the assembly by inserting the shaft'into the bore in head while the ferrule applied to the shank is in its plastic state, t us obviating the preliminary seasoning of the ferrule upon the shank before the shaft is inserted. But the best results are secured by following the steps first outlined.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the'United States, is: v

1. A golf club comprising a shaft with a tapering end and a head provided with a bore in which the end of the shaft is socured, in combination with a ferrule contracted about the joint between the shaft and head.

2. A golf club comprising a shaft with a tapering end and a head provided with a tapering bore in which the end of the shaft is secured, in combination with a ferrule formed of plastic material and contracted about the 'oint between the shaft and head.

3. A go f club comprising a shaft with a tapering end anda head bored at one side to receive the said end, in combination with a ferrule formed of lastic material and contracted about the joint to unite the shaft to the head.

' 4. A golf club comprising a shaft with a tapering end and a head with a tapering shank, the latter being bored'to receive the said end, and a ferru e of hardened plastic material covering the joint and uniting the from its ends encircling the shaft and the shank to unite the shaft to the head.

6. A golf club comprising a shaft having a tapering end and a head having a tapering shank in which the said end is secured and a ferrule of hardened plastic materia tapering interiorly from its ends and encircling the parts at the point of their union.

7. A golf club comprising a head having a tapering shank the latter being recessed on its surface, a shaft the tapering end of, which is inserted in the shank, and a ferrule of hardened plastic material encircling the shaft and shank at the point of their union and filling the said recess.

8. A golf club comprising a head havin a tapering shank, a shaft tapering towar one end, the said end being inserted in the shank, and a tubular ferrule of ardened plastic material encircling the pa s at the point of the convergence of the taper of the shank with that of the shaft, to unite the head to the shaft.

9. A golf club comprising a head having a tapering shank, a shaft tapering toward one end, the said end being inserted in the shank, in combination with a tubular ferrule tapering interiorly from its ends surrounding the parts at the point of the convergence of the taper of the shank with that of the shaft, to unite the head to the shaft.

10. A golf club comprising a head having against the said shoulder, the said ferrule extending beyond the point of convergence of the taper of the shank with that of the shaft and also embracing a section of the latter to unite the head to the shaft.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name at Milwaukee this 19th day of May, 1923.

GEO. H. MAAS. 

